JIM BRANSFIELD: Community exemplified at annual city Hall of Fame dinner

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CROMWELL -- It never gets old.

The Middletown Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner is 20 years old and maybe by now, some might think that it's becoming old hat. Honoring sports stars of yesteryear in a small Connecticut city might be something that has become a cliche, some might guess.

Guess again.

There were 600 people at Thursday's event and when it was over, no one wanted to go home. People stayed, took pictures and reminisced. Family and friends came to honor the 15 inductees plus the 1971 Xavier football team and they didn't want to leave.

They came from all over Connecticut and all over America. Orville Palmer, one of the inductees, lives in Colorado. He was there. Christine Hickey Fritz, another inductee, has family in Georgia and Texas. They were there. Inductee Alex Tucci's mom, Flora, lives in Florida. She was there. All across the room were folks from all across the country, coming back to Middletown to honor their own.

It's called community.

"For me, just to be in this group of inductees is very meaningful to me," said Tucci, a Middletown High and Wesleyan football star, and longtime MHS teacher and coach. "Paul LaBella [another inductee] was my idol in high school football. After he graduated, I lobbied to get his jersey number. Lou Labbadia [another inductee] was a student of mine in freshman England at MHS.

"My brother Johnny is already a member of the Hall and two of the men who were the greatest influences in my life, my coaches Waino Fillback and Don Russell, are in the Hall. John DeNunzio is in the Hall. And the guy who nominated me [Jim Witkowski] has been my friend for 40 years."

Community.

"I'm very honored that my father is being inducted," said Tom Prue Jr. of his late dad, who passed away just a few months ago. "He would have been very proud. Many of the athletes inducted were coached by him -- he often was their first coach in Little League or Midget football. Many of those he coached not only were successes on the field, but in life. He was most proud of that."

Community.

"I came out of Middlefield," said Bill Piantek. "But I went to Middletown High and here I am, being honored with guys I played against, then played with. Now I'm here with them. I'd always hoped for this, but now it's here and it's terrific."

Community.

"This is a humbling experience," said Labbadia, a Middletown High grad who is a nationally recognized soccer official. "It's such an honor. There are so many people in the Hall that I've looked up to -- players and coaches. It's such an honor for my family, and can't even explain how it feels and what it means except to say it's the pinnacle of my life."

Community.

"It's humbling," said Mike Muraca, one of Wesleyan University's all-time great football players. ""Tonight makes everything worthwhile. Sports have been my life and my family was always there, from pee-wee, through Xavier and through college. It's just awesome."

Community.

"This means that everything has come together for me, from start to finish," said Reuben Wilson, a terrific baseball player at Middletown High and UConn. "This is kind of a last hurrah. It is a blessing for me for my daughter and for my family to see this, many of whom did know much about all of this. To be here with family, friends, coaches, teammates and mentors just makes it full circle for me."

Community.

"It's really humbling," said Fred Balsamo, the former MHS AD who guided the city's public school athletic program through the merger of the two high schools in the mid-1980s. "I spent so much time in Middletown, so seeing all my old friends and coaches is great. I can't explain it, but when you're going through it you just do the job. When teams are successful, you're in the background as an AD. No one goes through a job hoping for a Hall of Fame selection; you do it for the kids. But it is great to be recognized."

So it is each year. The themes of connections, of shared experiences, and yeah, of community, are renewed every winter.

The football team was maybe the biggest example. Folks, 1971 was a while ago. As in 42 years ago. Tack 42 years onto 16-, 17- and 18-year-old high school players and -- do the math. Yet on this night, if there was a happier group in the room than those 26 team members, coaches and managers, I didn't see it.

They came from all over to be at the dinner. To share an ovation with their legendary coach Larry McHugh,after all these years, after hearing what they thought was their last on a cold November night at Palmer Field 42 years ago, is something without price. But they were there to hear the cheers one more time.

That's really what this dinner is about. The organizers say the dinner and the organization exist to preserve the history of Middletown sports. But as I always taught my history students at MHS, history is all about people. It's not about things, dates and places.

People. We use sports as a metaphor for people in community. The next community reunion is a year from now. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be there.